5 Takeaways: St. John’s blown out at Villanova

By Anthony E. Parelli (@reportedbytheAP)

 

Traveling to face the No. 8 team in the country coming off the worst loss of the year with your season on life support is not the ideal recipe for success.

 

But maybe St. John’s would play loose, the way it did during its six weeks of success spanning most of 2021. Maybe it could frustrate Villanova the way it did three weeks ago.

 

Nope.

 

The Wildcats ran the Red Storm out of Finneran Pavilion, 81-58, in a game that was never remotely competitive Tuesday night.

 

The Wildcats jumped out to a 20-9 start. They shot 50 percent from the floor, hit six 3-pointers and eventually took a 42-25 lead into the break. St. John’s, (14-10, 8-9 Big East) on the other hand, shot just 26.7 percent from the field and 2-of-13 from three in the first period. 

 

The final numbers weren’t much prettier for the Johnnies, ending the game shooting just 36.2 percent from the field and 3-of-23 from deep, and for most of the night, the product on the floor didn’t even look that efficient. Even at the line, where St. John’s entered with the second-best percentage in the conference, the Red Storm went just 13-of-21.

 

St. John’s 58 points were the fewest it has mustered this season.

 

My takeaways from the loss:

 

Champagnie’s slow starts

Julian Champagnie has been one of the best players in the conference, and maybe the country, this season, but he’s been plagued by slow starts at times. Tuesday was representative of those struggles, as the sophomore missed his first six shots and didn’t hit his first field goal until the final minute of the opening frame.

 

Champagnie finished with a team-high 16 points and seven rebounds, but shot just 5-of-18 from the field, including 0-of-6 from deep. 

 

Bench woes continue

Entering Saturday’s contest with DePaul, St. John’s had the highest scoring bench in the conference. On Tuesday, the Red Storm reserves managed just 25 points, with 10 coming from Isaih Moore. 

 

Marcellus Earlington, who was instrumental in the Johnnies’ success, has just four total points in his last two games.

 

Backcourt issues

Guards Rasheem Dunn and Posh Alexander are what make St. John’s go, both offensively and defensively. Their struggles the last two games – each finished with just four points Tuesday – directly influenced the team’s as a whole. 

 

Health concerns

Greg Williams, Jr. scored just five points, but looked as healthy as he has since injuring his back in January. He said prior to the game however that he’s never quite sure how the injury will hold up. 

 

Meanwhile, Alexander exited Tuesday’s contest with about three minutes remaining with a finger injury. The freshman looked to be in immense pain as he left the court and is one of two players – along with Champagnie – that the Red Storm flat out cannot afford to lose.

 

What now?

In just four days, NCAA Tournament hopes have dwindled to danger of failing to even qualify for the NIT. At this point, any postseason experience would be beneficial for a team that should return all but one of its contributors from this season in Dunn. 

 

The Red Storm desperately needs to come out of its eight-day layoff with a sense of urgency against Providence and Seton Hall before the Big East Tournament. As it stands, 2020-21 is in dire risk of becoming a lost year.

 

Next up

It was once thought St. John’s might try to fill this eight-day layoff with a non-conference game in hopes of boosting its tournament resume. With those hopes dashed, it’s now up to coach Mike Anderson to use this time to refocus his team and hope that Williams and Alexander can heal up. 

 

The Red Storm return to Carnesecca Arena to host Providence on March 3 at 7 p.m. in desperate need of a win.